The Crimson Curse
by greeneyedwitch16
Summary: Auror Weasley just wants to live her life but a chain of gruesome deaths and an unexplained disappearance turn her life upside down. Will she be able to handle the pressure of being an Auror and her budding relationship with her colleague or will she bleed at the hands of the Crimson Curse?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my first story everyone so please be gentle. Please review with suggestions and if I should go on with the story. Do let me know what you think :)

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Chapter 1

"Honestly Dad you do not have to come bursting through my door every single day at five in the bloody morning to check if I am still alive!" It had been three months since Mum and Dad had allowed me to move out of their house to my flat again. Ever since my first morning here, Dad had made giving me and Celine, my owl, a heart attack an unnecessary addition to my daily routine. Today was no different.

"Merlin Rosie I thought I asked you to clear this place yesterday! Your mother would have a fit if she saw this mess," said my dad, walking around my apartment, which, in my opinion, was perfectly clean if one ignored the massive pile of dirty laundry on the floor in my bedroom, dirty dishes in the sink and a mountain of papers on the dining table that had somehow found its way to the floor. Okay so maybe my dad wasn't completely bonkers for shouting.

"Dad can you please knock off the hysterics? A little clutter never harmed anyone," I said, as I searched for some pants on the floor. "I have other things to worry about."

"Yes you do Rosie," he said, turning to face me with a serious expression. "You have become very cavalier Rosie. Just because it's been four months that does not mean you are no longer in trouble. Now, do you have that darkness powder I gave you?"

"Yes, Dad," I replied monotonously. We'd been through this before, about a million times. "It's always with me."

"Good. And you know that Muggle self-defence thing your mum taught you?"

"Yes, Dad."

"And the counter curse to Expelliarmus?"

"Ducking and punching my attacker in the nose?"

"Rosie!"

"Seriously Dad I get it, okay?" I said, raising my hands in surrender. "I know all the counter curses to all the offensive spells in the Auror Spellbook. Merlin, I learned them all in the first month of Auror Training. I know how to incapacitate a man in 40 seconds and I can outrun Al and Fred. I have the powder, Fiendish Potion and Mum's charmed bracelet with me all the time. I am as prepared as I can be, Dad, so will you please stop worrying so much about me? There's only so much we can do. We can't just stop living our lives because of some psychopath."

"Yeah I'm sorry Rosie. I suppose I have been rather mental haven't I?" he sighed, sitting on the arm of the sofa. "You'll have to forgive me for worrying Rosie but I'm your Dad aren't I? I've gotta worry."

I hugged him and sat in his lap like I used to when I was three. "I love you Dad. I'll take care of myself I promise. Now will you please go so that I can sleep for another hour?"

He chuckled and pushed me off his lap. "Alright Rosie you be good. I'll see you at work." He kissed my head, grabbed his wand from his pocket and walked out of my apartment.

I stomped to my bedroom and all but collapsed into my bed. Looking at Celine perched on my headboard I sighed, "How long will we live like this Cel?" It's not like my dad's anxiety was baseless; the killer was ruthless and had killed all his victims in the worst way possible. Lily, my younger cousin, had just managed to escape from his clutches thanks to the Senior Auror Department lead by her father, Harry Potter. She was of no help to the investigation because the Crimson Curse (that's what they were calling the murderer; honestly who came up with that name?) had wiped her memory before she had gotten away so other than several nervous breakdowns and constant anxiety, which was expected, she had nothing to offer to the investigation.

I rolled over in bed and pulled the comforter over myself. 'Madmen and dead girls are another day's worry,' I thought as I slipped into blissful darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Writing reports is by far the most boring and therefore my least favourite part of being an Auror. There are obviously those silly cases of diamonds being reported stolen when, in fact, they were simply misplaced, but there are also murder mysteries that end in running full speed and firing spells at a criminal in some dark alley, which make the reports almost worth it all. Almost.

Closing the file of my latest case, I put my head down on my desk and closed my eyes. It was a slow day at work today. Almost everyone at the Agency was busy with the Crimson Curse Case but I, obviously, was not allowed to even have a peek. My father felt that after Lily's abduction, it was best for me to deal with petty household crimes and stay as far away from the big case as possible. I still couldn't help but wonder why the murderer had decided to kill all those girls.

No, Lily wasn't the first one to be abducted. Seven girls had been abducted and killed before Lily. The madman had made them do all sorts of crimes like torturing their loved ones, killing innocents or simply stealing priceless artifacts. They came from different social classes and had nothing in common except one thing: they were all redheads. That's why they call him the Crimson Curse I suppose (I do think they could have given him a better name.) The most horrible part of the murders was that after all the mindless assault, the girls' bodies were delivered in a coffin to their parents with a flower carved into their stomachs. That was his mark: a red daisy-like flower.

"I hope you're finally done with that report, Rose?" I snapped out of my thoughts to see my boss Ms Ariadne Watts peering at me through her glasses. She was a slightly stout woman with greying hair. She had been in the field for a long time and had finally decided to take a desk job.

"Yes, Ms Watts. Just finished it," I said, handing her the file.

"Good, because I have a case that might interest you," she said, handing me a file. "It's a missing person case. I think you'll want this one."

"Who's the victim?" I asked, opening the file.

"Emma Perkins. You know her, I think?"

I started at the name. "Yes I do," I said, shaking my head slightly. "I went to Hogwarts with her sister Ilaria. We weren't very close but I knew her."

"Good. Now stop looking so gloomy and get on with the case. I have owled the family and told them you'll reach their house in about fifteen minutes for interrogations."

I nodded my head and grabbed my wand off the desk.

Just as I was leaving, I heard Ms Watts say, "Oh Rose, you should probably go with your partner."

"Sorry, my partner?" I asked frowning.

"Yes, I'm afraid you'll have a partner for this case, Rose. Your father doesn't want you running around alone with a killer on the lose."

"But Ms Watts you know I work alone. I am absolutely disastrous with partners," I whined.

"I am sorry Rose but I cannot go against your father's wishes. He is a Senior Auror. And I think you'll like this partner. He's not like the ones you've had before. This one's smart and he will complement you perfectly. Plus, he's one of our best," she said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Please Ms Watts you know there's no one as smart as me in the agency except the Senior Aurors," I said, shaking my head. "So who is this person that you think is perfect for me?"

"Well it's… Ah! Right on time!" she exclaimed suddenly, spotting someone behind me. "Rose, meet your new partner, Scorpius Malfoy."

I turned around, my mouth ajar. "No. No way Ms Watts. Absolutely not. I refuse to work with this man!" I shouted, folding my arms angrily.

Scorpius smirked and pushed his platinum blond hair out of his eyes. "Nice to meet you as always, Ro. You look fit in that pantsuit. Been working out, have you?" he said, looking me up and down.

"Shut up you brat." Wheeling to face Ms Watts, I said, "See, Ms Watts? This is why I can't work with him."

"Oh come off it now Rose. You can either work on this case with Scorpius or you can let him work on it alone and handle reports and files with me," she said, folding her arms.

She knew I would never give up a case and definitely not to Scorpius Idiot Malfoy. I grumpily huffed out, "Fine, I'll work with him. But this is blackmail Ms Watts and you know it. It's cheating."

"Oh shush dear. Now go. The Perkins will be waiting." With that she turned on her heel and left me standing with my archenemy.

Okay so maybe Scorpius isn't my archenemy or my enemy but that does not mean that I do not hate him very much. He is everything I don't want in a partner: handsome, (this is a very distracting quality; what if I get distracted by his gorgeous forearms when I'm facing a murderer? Oh Merlin did I just say gorgeous?) incredibly arrogant, flirtatious (his remarks get to me and make having a proper conversation with him very difficult) and most importantly, he smirks (his smirk drives me absolutely insane. No explanation needed.)

"Come on Ro. We'll have so much fun, you and I," he said, smirking like an idiot.

"Don't call me Ro," I muttered angrily. "Look, if we're going to make this work, you need to behave properly and stay serious and focused on the case. I don't want you fooling around when we're in the middle of an interrogation and mess up the whole thing, do you understand? I know this girl and I want to make sure she is found."

"Ro, I think I should remind you that I dated her sister at Hogwarts so I have more connections with the family. So you don't have to get your knickers in a twist about my professionalism. I am always serious about my work so you can quit harping."

"Fine," I said, through gritted teeth. I pushed past him towards the doors. "Come on now. We have a missing girl to find."


End file.
